New Delhi: Indian cricket team's T20 team for the Asia Cup 2022 will be announced on Monday, August 8. The selectors will have a meeting in Mumbai, where they will be joined by head coach Rahul Dravid and all-format skipper Rohit Sharma via internet from Florida. In-form star all-rounder Hardik Pandya could be made the permanent vice-captain of India in the T20 set-up for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022 and T20 World Cup tournaments, ANI reported.
It remains to be seen whether KL Rahul is able to return to the team for the Asia Cup. The star batter tested positive for Covid after which he was forced to miss India vs West Indies T20 series, a series in which he was supposed to make his comeback after injury. Sources from BCCI told ANI that Pandya might replace KL Rahul for vice-captaincy.
"The management is discussing over one name for vice-captaincy. It could be Hardik Pandya as he gave us good results in the past. He made Gujarat Titans the champions of IPL 2022 under his leadership. He showed great performances in the series against South Africa and England. We want to name an all-rounder for this post and in the current scenario, Hardik deserves this post," sources told ANI.
Hardik Pandya has established himself as one of the most important players on the Indian team in white-ball cricket.
The year 2022 has been a year of redemption for Pandya as he has gone through an emotional roller-coaster ride in the last few months.
As a captain, Pandya led Gujarat Titans to a title win in their debut Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The all-rounder scored 487 runs in 15 games at an average of 44.27 and four fifties. He also did great with the ball for his team, taking eight wickets throughout the tournament.